Yachts & Yachting magazine July 2022

THIS ISSUE FEATURES an interesting juxtaposition between two racing sailors at opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one hand we have an exciting young gun, James Harayda, who is aiming to make his mark in the Vendee Globe by becoming the youngest skipper to compete in the 2024 edition, on the other, Matteo Ricciardi, who is competing in the Round Britain and Ireland race in a Vertue 26, the oldest and smallest boat in the race by some measure. Two very different sailors with different stories but one thing in common; they have an extraordinary dream and they are determined to realise that dream. Ultimately every story about a race is a human story on some level and it has always been that side of the sport that has captivated…

SailGP set for Plymouth return SailGP returns to Plymouth on July 30-31 July and tickets are now on sale. It will be the third event in the global championship’s 2022/23 calendar and follows a hugely successful SailGP event in the Devon city in 2021, which drew an estimated 27,500 spectators around the Sound and on the water. Tickets for the 2022 ‘grand prix’, held once again in partnership with Plymouth City Council, will include options to watch from the Hoe, from official spectator boats and from your own boat. There are also team base tours being offered, giving the chance to see the ‘pit lane garages’ where the athletes and shore teams prepare the foiling F50 boats. As ever with SailGP, there will be a huge array of concurrent local activities in line with…

Cowes Week video Following the debut of the Club Cruiser Class at Cowes Week last year, the Cruising Association and Cowes Week have released a ‘first-timer’ video, aimed at new skippers and new crew. The video covers topics including sails, courses and other essential information. Search for the Cowes Week channel on YouTube. Cowes Week is from 30 July to 5 August. Slingsby signs for American Magic Leading sailor Tom Slingsby has signed for the American Magic team, challenging for the next America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024. Slingsby helped win the event for Team Oracle USA in San Francisco in 2013 and raced again for the USA in 2017 in Bermuda. In the meantime he’s won SailGP twice with his Australian team (see story opposite). At American Magic he joins top English…

“Sexist comments need to be ‘called out’ by other sailors on board” The creation of an all-female racing team by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke has drawn widespread applause from the competitive sailing world. The Live Ocean Racing Team (see page 10) will compete in one of a rash of new professional foiling circuits, with the idea of creating a pool of female talent with the skills to take on the America’s Cup or SailGP. It’s a great initiative, particularly so because it’s come from two of the most famous sailors in the world, both double America’s Cup winners. What’s also great is that it’s not as uncommon an initiative as it would have been a few years ago. Competitive sailing is changing fast to create more opportunities for female sailors. The…

Excess 14 Excess Catamarans is an offshoot of Lagoon, the best selling cruising multihull manufacturer of all time. The aim of Excess was to draw in a younger audience essentially. The first few models used existing Lagoon hulls and spruced them up but the project has now evolved and an entirely separate range is being developed. The new boat is 44’ on the waterline and features the now-trademark twin helms aft. The boat features a relatively low freeboard compared to Lagoon and, although daggerboards have been eschewed, the keels are somewhat deeper – pointing to the line being trod between speed and comfort. sea-ventures.co.uk GT 325 British boatbuilder GT Yachts hit the headlines some years ago by unveiling an exciting range of pure blooded cruisers. Their first model off the production line, the GT…

Here I was again in the Caribbean. Antigua. We had delivered the Lagoon Catamaran 45 Boogie Woogie from Grand Canaria in November last year. Now we were taking her back to Europe. Getting into the mood, I went to the Skullduggery Pub and had a rum punch whilst waiting for Tomaz, Boogie Woogie’s owner, and his kids, who had crossed the Atlantic with us last November; they had been in Antigua chartering their boat since I left them in Grenada last year. Boogie Woogie was anchored, waiting for us to take her back to Greece. I was escorted straight to my old cabin. Then, hungry as hell, we climbed back aboard the dinghy and went back to Skullduggery for hamburgers, fish and chips and another rum. The next day, after an early…